The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, the IDF sends an undercover unit into Nablus in cars with Palestinian license plates to arrest 2 Palestinians drinking tea outside a home; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Jenin town and r.c. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba beat a local Palestinian. Meanwhile, the PA’s new Jenin security force makes a predawn incursion into Qabatya, an Islamic Jihad stronghold, clashing with local gunmen, critically wounding a Palestinian student with a gunshot to the head and shooting 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in the legs. (OCHA, WP, WT 5/7; PCHR 5/8)

The Lebanese government declares illegal a private telephone network covering s. and e. Lebanon run by Hizballah, calling it a threat to national security; also removes Brig. Gen. Wafiq Shuqeir as security chief at Beirut International Airport for his alleged Hizballah sympathies. (BBC 5/7; Independent 5/8; Paul Salem, “Hizbollah Attempts Coup D’Etat,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 2008; Hizballah spokesman Haj Hussein Khalil press conference, al-Manar TV [Beirut] 5/12; Asia Times 5/13)

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Knesset House Com. decides (8-5) to discuss MK Sarid's request to revoke Kach MK Kahane's parliamentary immunity. Caller claiming to be "Avenger" phones in death threat to Pres. Herzog. UK Foreign Sec. Howe meets with Elias Freij, Rashad Shawa, Gabi Baramki & Hikmat al-Masri in E. Jerusalem. Before Tel Aviv U. audience, US amb. to Israel Lewis criticizes Reagan peace plan, saying timing was "abysmal," tactics "worse," and results to date are "nil." Ciskei Pres. Lennox Sebe inaugurates "twinning" of Ariel settlement and Ciskei's capital, Bisho.

Arab World: In al-Sharq al-Awsat interview, King Hussein criticizes US role in Middle East and says he will buy Soviet weapons.

Other Countries: In global nuclear weapons survey, Carnegie Endowment for Intl. Peace reports Israel has capability to deploy 10-20 nuclear bombs.